Cen Ye Meng pouted, her face full of disdain, "Honey, you're just making excuses for yourself."
"If an excuse is valid, it's no longer an excuse," Jiang Ye smiled.
"Sharp tongue," Cen Ye Meng pouted.
"We've given the child the resources he needs, the upbringing he needs, even better genes. He's born an artist, isn't that better than both of us? We may have given less in terms of companionship, but there's plenty of time in the future," Jiang Ye said. "Jiang Sen Lin has better conditions than most children, and that's naturally thanks to our efforts as parents."
"If that's the case," Cen Ye Meng reached out and put her arms around her husband's neck, "since we have such a good child, shall we have another one?"
Jiang Ye's face immediately turned red.
"We're an old married couple, why are you still blushing?" Cen Ye Meng burst into laughter, then blushed herself.
Jiang Ye didn't answer, but suddenly picked up his wife and headed for the bedroom.
...
The next day.
Cen Ye Meng opened the office door and paused.
Hua Qing, reeking of alcohol, stood at the door, holding a folder in her arms, and bowed slightly with a hint of nervousness, "Commander Cen."
"What is it?" Cen Ye Meng stared at her suspiciously.
"I'm here to apply for a seat at the Interstellar Ecology Conference with Commander Jiang," Hua Qing quickly opened the folder.
"Come in," Cen Ye Meng smiled, without looking at the file, and hurried away.
Hua Qing stood at the door and knocked, "Commander, may I come in?"
"Come in. You don't usually knock, but you're so polite today," Jiang Ye emerged from the bedroom wearing a bathrobe, holding a cup of strong tea.
Hua Qing's expression was awkward as she closed the office door, "It's just that Commander Cen is here, so I have to be proper."
Jiang Ye looked confused, "Why do you act proper when she's here, but not when I'm around? Is she a commander and I'm not?"
"I'm familiar with you!" Hua Qing smiled.
"Attention!" Jiang Ye suddenly said loudly.
The smile on Hua Qing's face vanished instantly, and she snapped to attention, standing rigidly in place.
"No need to be so formal, at ease." Jiang Ye smiled, "What do you need me for?"
Hua Qing breathed a sigh of relief, glared at Jiang Ye resentfully, and walked over to open the file.
"There's an organization, the Interstellar Ecology Conference. I want Jiang Ye Star, Bi Rong Star, Liu Wang Star, and Spiral Star to participate and secure some seats," Hua Qing said. "This matter requires your approval, and then we'll need to select personnel from diplomatic and scientific fields to attend."
"My principle is to only participate in useful interstellar organizations. If we were to participate in all the interstellar organizations in the Milky Way, I'd need to prepare five divisions of representatives," Jiang Ye sat down behind his desk and placed his finished teacup forward.
Hua Qing was perceptive and immediately picked up the teacup to refill it, speaking as she did so:
"The Interstellar Ecology Conference is an old organization established four hundred years ago, with members spread across the universe. In its early days, it was purely a scientific and academic conference, attended only by planets that focused on supporting research. The membership fees were very low, and it was mainly maintained by private donations from academic titans..."
Jiang Ye frowned.
Academic titans?
The term sounded rather chuunibyou, like something from ancient fantasy novels, such as "Several titans joined forces to suppress the demon race" or "A certain titan burned his vital blood to escape." Now it was being used for scientists. Had language evolved over the past few centuries, with some novelistic terms becoming common written language?
"What's wrong, Commander?" Hua Qing noticed his frown.
"Nothing, continue," Jiang Ye waved his hand.
"However, after the Galactic Empire began its large-scale outward expansion, the nature of this conference changed. Besides scientists, a large number of people in military uniforms started attending. At one point, the number of military representatives from various planets even surpassed that of researchers," Hua Qing said.
Jiang Ye nodded.
He could guess the specific reason.
As various planets expanded outwards, they needed to carry out ecological modifications on newly occupied planets to save military expenses, promote economic development, and accelerate colonization. Therefore, this conference likely transformed from an academic gathering into a conference for the expansionist military factions of various planets.
"Now, attendees often discuss not specific biological or regional academic achievements, but rather share situations encountered on newly occupied planets," Hua Qing said. "So, I believe it's necessary for us to participate. Aren't you still planning to expand? It would be good to absorb some experience from other planets. Moreover, the ecological transformation of Spiral Star has just begun; perhaps attending this conference can provide us with some reference."
"Indeed," Jiang Ye nodded. "Are there any requirements for participating in this conference?"
"High membership fees, or sufficient experience," Hua Qing said.
"Explain in detail."
"Although the Interstellar Ecology Conference advertises itself as an event for equal exchange among all participating representatives, its nature has changed in recent years. It has become a disguised training institution, or rather, a super-large tutoring class," Hua Qing handed the teacup to Jiang Ye.
"Training institution? Tutoring class?" Jiang Ye took a sip of tea.
"Each conference has a theme, with keynote speakers and previews, roughly outlining the content," Hua Qing said. "Then, conference representatives decide whether to attend. To attend, a processing fee must be paid, the price of which is not fixed. The more sought-after the theme and speaker, the higher the price. The record is ten billion for a four-hour session with six thousand participants, earning the speaker six trillion."
"Holy cow, that's outrageously expensive," Jiang Ye was shocked. "It really is like a training institution, or rather, a paid lecture."
"Yes, your summary is more accurate, paid lectures," Hua Qing nodded vigorously. "After our representatives attend, they can choose to give a lecture to earn money by sharing our experiences, or they can choose to pay to listen to lectures from other planets."
"Our experiences..." Jiang Ye blinked. "Jiang Ye Star has experience in climate modification. Years before you arrived, Jiang Ye Star's winters and early springs were hellish. Blizzards would bury people, and the thawing in early spring caused massive floods. But after several years of ecological modification, Jiang Ye Star has become much more habitable."
"Bi Rong Star also has some experience in environmental modification. I organized large-scale pioneer groups to reclaim deserts, turning millions of square kilometers of desert into oases. Liu Wang Star has ample experience in battlefield modification. As for Spiral Star, it's even more straightforward – creating an ecosystem from scratch," Jiang Ye said. "So, if we send representatives, we should have something to talk about."
"Yes, yes! Who knows, we might even make a fortune. If we earn six trillion for one lecture like in the record I mentioned, imagine how much we could earn by giving a few more!" Hua Qing's expression was excited.
"Approved. There's no question about it, it must be approved."
Jiang Ye picked up his pen and signed the document.